Monthly house prices grew at their fastest pace for 12 months in February, new figures show.
According to the latest Your Move house price index, the average price of a home in England and Wales went up 0.6% in February to £297,832 – double the rate in January.
Despite this boost, annual house price inflation continued to fall for the twelfth consecutive month, dropping to 2.4%, the lowest annual rate since 2013.
Oliver Blake, managing director of Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agents, said: “It’s an encouraging start to 2017. We’ve seen the strongest house price growth in a year, the emergence of the promised Northern Powerhouse and the first tentative signs of a recovery in our highest priced properties in London.
“The good news too is that the number of first time buyers grew last year and house building was up – although home ownership is now at its lowest level in over three decades.”
The East of England remains the top performing region in terms of prices, which went up 5.9% over the year.
Merseyside and Birmingham also experienced peak prices – up 5% and 6.2% respectively.
A return of growth in high value London property pushed average prices up 2.1% to £297,832.
The London commuter hotspots of Luton (growing 10.4% in the last year) and Essex (6%) both set new peak prices in the month.
With the exception of London, Southern regions are once again driving price inflation in England and Wales. The South East (up 0.6% monthly and 5.2% annually) and the South West (0.6% and 4.7%) are both closing the gap on the East.
It’s not a simple North South divide, however. The North West, where prices grew 4.1% annually, is an increasingly important part of the market.
Growth in property sales in Greater Manchester over the three years to the end of 2016 against the three before, (36%) is only marginally above the average for the region as a whole, but six times the sales growth in Greater London. Average prices, meanwhile, are up 7.2% annually.
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